Debate resumed from 30 September, on motion by Senator Bushby:

That the Senate take note of the report.

I commend the Community Affairs Legislation Committee report. It is on the National Health Amendment (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme) Bill 2010, and I wanted to address the aspects of the report with respect to diabetes and the concern for people with type 1 diabetes, of which there are about 140,000 around Australia—juvenile diabetes, type 1 diabetes, insulin-dependent diabetes. A big issue for that community at the moment is access to insulin pumps. Of course the biggest issue of all is a cure, and last weekend we had, at least in Tasmania, the Walk to Cure Diabetes. I want to commend on the record John and Gaylene White, for their efforts to make such a successful event in and around Launceston, and the JDRF, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, who have organised such walks for a cure around Australia, raising millions of dollars for a cure for type 1 diabetes. I commend them, congratulate them and thank all the families involved in that.

With respect to insulin pumps, the particular concern that I raised in Senate estimates last week is that under the government’s new subsidy program there are only 96 young Australians under the age of 18 who have accessed that program and that subsidy. In my view, that proves that the program as it is currently structured is not working. I have raised that with the department and I have put them on notice again that they need to work through this issue with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, who manage the program. They do a great job. I congratulate them and Mike Wilson and his leadership there. I know that Diabetes Australia and Professor Greg Johnson has a view about this, and it is similar to my own: the system currently is not working adequately. It needs to be restructured. The subsidy clearly is not big enough. It is only available at the moment for children under 18 years of age. That is discriminatory; it should be available to 19-year-olds, 20-year-olds and 21-year-olds. I used an example last week of a 21-year-old who unfortunately had a very brittle form of diabetes and needed a pump but did not have the funding. He was from a low-income family was not able to afford an insulin pump.

I bring that to the attention of the Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon, and I bring it to the attention of the department again. This program really needs to be re-looked at and I urge the government to take whatever measures possible—liaise with the JDRF, Diabetes Australia, the peak bodies and with me. I put on the record my special interest here. I do have an insulin pump and I do have type 1 diabetes. I am the only federal member of parliament with type 1 diabetes. I put that on the record; it has been on the record month in, month out; year in, year out since I have been in the Senate. I wanted to put that on the record during this debate and to say that clearly, when only 96 young people are accessing the program when millions of dollars have been allocated to this program, this is not working.

We do not want those funds to go to waste. I want those funds to be well used and to be dedicated and allocated to young Australians of whatever shape, size, colour and sex with type 1 diabetes. If they have brittle diabetes, an insulin pump can help. We know that, everybody in the diabetes community knows that and this is something that the government will have to have a good, hard look at. I make those observations and I seek leave to continue my remarks.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.